This invention is in the field of coin counters and in the general field of coin stacking, such as is done at businesses and banks.
In past years, there has been a great deal of development in coin counting machines. There are also many proposals for counting coins by measuring the length of the stack of coins to be counted. These proposals can be classified into two catagories, vertical tube type and horizontally grooved body type. In the first type, there are many patents issured, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 961,832, 1,710,086, 1,407,140, 2,150,473, 2,527,389, 2,996,864, 3,093,148, 3,085,378, 3,206,914, 3,999,563, 4,091,597, 4,244,157 and etc. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,157, a funnel was proposed to be attached to the upper end of the tube to collect the coins to be counted. The main disadvantage of this type is that one tube can not count various denominations of coins unless by selectively adjusting the inside diameter of the tube. Another disadvantage is that the tube can only count coins stacks not loose, even by attaching a funnel on the upper end of the tube, loose coins will always plug the funnel or the tube.
In the second type, the horizontally grooved body type, the eariest patent I can find is U.S. Pat. No. 202,188 issured to James Ostergard in 1878 for counting predetermined number of coins, there is no measuring scale on the device. The counter with measuring scale on it is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 208,902 issured to Charles H. Fuller in 1878. His device can measure only one denomination of coins and it only takes coins already stacked. U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,467 issured to Francis H. Gates in 1959 proposed a five grooves device with different groove sizes. His device also can count only pre-stacked coins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,668 issured to Joseph J. Malacheski in 1978 proposed a four groove device, one groove on each side of a block, to count four denominations of coins, 25.cent., 10.cent., 5.cent., and 1.cent.. There is no measuring scale but marks of $10., $5., $2., and $0.50 on it. His device was designed mainly for wrapping purpose. This device also can count only pre-stacked coins.
The coin counter in my invention has only one grooved body, but can count various denominations of coins. On the grooved body, there are the same number of measuring scales as the number of denominations of coins to be counted. There is a rectangle-shape funnel attached to the top of the grooved body. So it can receive coins loose and do the job of stacking, a required process before measuring. To my knowledge, there is no earlier patent on coin counters having the same propositions as I have in my invention.